Do Rich People Actually Work for a Living?

It’s no news that the economy of our world is constantly changing. But while some changes (especially since 2008) are bad and we don’t like to hear about them, others are rather interesting. So is this one.
During the late 1800s (and before that too) it was pretty clear that rich people didn’t work. They were passive capitalists and most of their income was dependent on their investments and assets. Very few were actually working for a living.
But during the past decades the situation has changed considerably. Today the top 1% of earners get most of their money from salaries: two thirds of their total income, to be more exactly. The rest comes from collected rent, interest income or dividends. In contrast, during the ‘50s and the ‘60s, less than half of rich people’s money came from wages.
So the conclusion is that today rich people actually work for their money, right? And we have many examples from the sports world or from Hollywood. But now another vital question arises: do these people really earn exactly what they worth?

Are their enormous salaries really justified? Well, our guess is that the almost unanimous answer to this question will be “no”, if it comes from the less wealthy.
Anyway, one thing is for sure: nowadays people need to actually work if they want to be rich. And that’s not a bad principle at all!